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3/4/08 8:18 PM | Jonathan Morgan
In constrast to their contemporaries Federer and Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick were able to easily routinely defeat their opponents in the Dubai heat.
Novak Djokovic def. Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-3
World #3 Novak Djokovic appeared to be fully recovered from his illness that dampered his play in Davis Cup last month as he looked solid in this match against Cilic. Not the greatest baseline performance from Nole, but it wasn't needed. Cilic had no chance once the serve was back in play. Speaking of serve, Djokovic's is becoming quite the weapon. He didn't allow Cilic to even think of a break point. Overall, just too solid from Djokovic tonight. He looked like a man on a mission tonight with his thousand yard stare and unshakable focus. He will face master tactician Fabrice Santoro in the next round.
Andy Roddick def. Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2, 6-4
An easy match here for the American #1 in a rematch of the 2003 US Open final, albeit on a much smaller scale. Jetlag was apparently not an issue as Roddick was able to recover from a Friday loss to Soderling to win here on the other side of the world in Dubai on Tuesday. Roddick threw in 78% first serves and was able to win 70% of his SECOND serve points. Serving stats the old Roddick would be proud of. Ferrero never got a sniff in Roddick's service games. The American was also very solid in the baseline rallies, something that one barely needs to do in order to defeat Ferrero these days. Roddick was aggresive in the baseline rallies, but again, it was against Ferrero. Still encouraging signs from Roddick, however, as he will face Paul-Henri Mathieu in the next round.
Other winners today included Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, who worked over Aussie qualifier Joseph Sirianni in straight sets. Also winning was Mikhail Ledovskikh, who upended Mahmoud Nader, who looked like a pickle in a haystack at this high quality event. The #11 player in the world is unseeded here while Nader was a player who only won a single match in a futures qualifier prior to this tournament. Not exactly a fair bout. Ledovskikh advanced easily.
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